Originally Posted by AZFlyer

I've applied to a unit on the east coast and just had WFG-PRK 4 weeks ago. I was outside of waiverable limits (about 20/300). No regrets with doing the surgery. My vision is already fantastic. Had a 4 week post-op visit today and am 20/15 in both eyes and still improving .

From speaking with the flight surgeon with the unit that I applied to, the gist of what he told me was that as long as the type of procedure you undergo is waiverable, which WFG-PRK is, among other types, then you can do it on your own. That is what I did. The unit will work on your refractive surgery medical waiver after you get hired, so I was told. And yes, you do have to wait 12 months after the surgery, but so what? I'm 28 years old in 3 weeks and thankfully it seems they like me enough that they're still willing to work with me to get me through all the hoops in time so that I can enter UPT before I turn into a pumpkin. It's going to be a photo finish, for me. If the stars align just right, I'll be on my way to AMS in a little over 12 months, but only because I elected to have the surgery and kept my name in their ears.

So, is it worth it to me? Hell yes. I want to be an officer and a pilot in the guard. You're young enough that I think it would be a no brainer. You want to be a pilot, right? My personal opinion is that you should make them tell you "NO" before you go and enlist. Granted, I say that because I'm 2 years from being 30 years old and I need take that approach.

With all that said, keep in mind that I'm a civilian and can only speak from the very little exposure I've experienced so far. You'd be better off directly speaking with people in the units you want to join to get the best answers (i.e. their flight surgeon, commander, whoever...). Thats what I did and because of it, I feel much better about the steps I've taken so far.